Your resume is designed for one single purpose: to win you an interview with a prospective employer. This is achieved almost exclusively by standing out among your fellow applicants. Job seekers are always looking to get their resume to the top of the pile, but strangely, very few of them take the initiative to make their resume visually impressive.

Some think that a colorful, non-standard resume is a waste of time or worse — it might make an applicant stand out in the wrong ways. They might tell you that it’s best to stick with the “safe bet” of a conventional, black-and-white, standard resume. But, blending into the crowd of ordinary applicants with an ordinary resume is anything but a “safe bet.” Hiring managers sift through typical, bland resumes all day. They’d almost certainly welcome a change of pace, and they’re actively looking for unique, exceptional candidates. Shouldn’t you have a unique, exceptional resume?

The following resume templates could be your ticket to a lot more job interviews and callbacks. At less than $10 each, they’re a worthy investment, and can fit into even the tightest of budgets. Graphic designers should certainly design their own resume from scratch, but designers don’t hold a monopoly on clean layouts and carefully-chosen typography. Even those of us who are color-challenged and design deficient can still have a sharp-looking resume.

This 3-piece resume features clean, modern typography, room for skills and awards, and two different color options. It includes matching templates for your cover letter, your resume itself and your references. Click here for a closer look.

This resume features a sleek timeline for your work experience, and some colorful vectorized diagrams to highlight your skills and/or interests. It has two different font choices, as well as a black and white version. Click here for a closer look.

The “Quotations” Resume has a bright appearance and room for quotations from your colleagues, your references or even yourself. It also has a second layout for your work history, and room for a self-evaluation of your skills. Click here for a closer look.

For those who want a clean, colorless resume, you can still take full aesthetic advantage of margins, padding and other whitespace. This template has carefully-chosen, minimalist elements to keep your information as the focal point. Click here for a closer look.

This template has matching layouts for your cover letter, resume and references. It’s ideal for the applicant who wants a sharp resume without overly-jazzy, distracting elements. Click here for a closer look.

The resume booklet template is designed for up to 8 pages of information bound together in a stylish, colorful brochure. Those who want to present very detailed information could take great advantage of the extra room and the professional layout. Click here for a closer look.

This template is for those who want to condense their information down to one page. Some hiring managers prefer a single page resume, and this would suit the need ideally, and still have room left over for a little color and flair. Click here for a closer look.